Secrets
by Cyrus the Black
Summary: Naruto guards a secret that could destroy what small friendships he has, but he isn't the only one that has this sort of secret. Kiba is hiding something that could do just as much damage. -AU- Naru/Kiba, but not like you think. R&R Rated M for safety.
1. Gone to the Dogs

_Secrets, they can be frighteningly powerful at times, and entirely trivial at others. One thing about secrets that can always be assured is that they will always change things once they come out._

_But it's not always the big secrets that hold the most power for change, no quite the opposite really. It is, inevitably, the secrets that sound the most trivial, when heard by an outsider, that can hold the most power in a close group. For they are the ones that can most change a persons views._

_Don't get the wrong idea, big secrets will most certainly have their day, but among friends, the sort of secret that would seem big to an outsider, can become the easiest to just brush to the side._

_So perhaps, this too can be assured of secrets; whether it is a big or a small secret, is not always clear, until it comes out._

_This truth too though, is a secret; a secret that is about to be learned by two, very different, and yet very similar people._

* * *

Today was a day looked forward to by many in the village of Konoha, not because it was a holiday or the birthday of someone special. No, in fact, to any outside observer today would seem like any other day. But to many in the village it was quite the occasion, especially among the ranks of the shinobi, which made up the main industry of Konoha.

Today was the day that the new teams were formed; it was a day of growth for the shinobi of Konoha, a day in which new life entered their ranks, a day truly worth looking forward to for those who were all too often involved with death. But this day was more important still, to those, who had just the day before, become Genin.

The rank of Genin was the lowest rank for a shinobi, and yet for those who sat in the academy, waiting as patiently as they could manage, it was their first step toward greatness. It was a point from which they could move forward with any number of dreams or ambitions.

And for nine of those new Genin, though they do not yet know it, it was their first step on the road to becoming legends.

* * *

There was so much hanging in the classroom air, from excitement to anxiety to impatience, to name but a few. And as the classroom door slid open, and a brown haired man with a scar that ran across his nose stepped in, all of these feelings seemed to turn into a palpable tension. But, strong as it was, it all seemed to shatter and melt away with the first words the man spoke.

"Good morning class." The man said with a somewhat sad smile. "I'd just like to start, by saying just how proud I am of each and every one of you." He added as he looked over everyone in the classroom. "To say I will miss you would be an understatement of the greatest caliber, but I know that you are all off to bigger and better things, and so, I am also happy to see this day come."

As the man finished speaking, he turned, with that same sad smile, to a set of papers in his hands. "I will now be giving out your team assignments as well as..." The man started before the door slid open, and another man walked in.

"Umino Iruka?" The man asked, receiving only a nod in answer from the scarred man that stood in front of the class. "I was told by Hokage-sama to give you this." The man said, before handing a set of folded papers to Iruka.

"I see...thank you." Iruka said as he took the papers and the other man walked off. Unfolding the papers and reading through them, Iruka looked back up to his class with a slightly shocked expression. Clearing his throat, he readdressed those who sat before him.

"It would seem there have been some changes to the planned team assignments." Iruka spoke, earning murmurs and whispers from the class. "Now before any rumors get started, I will go ahead and explain why." As soon as those words had left his mouth, Iruka was surprised to find the room go completely silent. 'Well...that worked a bit too well...' He thought to himself before explaining. "Those who were chosen to act as Jounin Sensei this year have made requests for their teams, and though rare, it is neither unheard of nor disallowed for them to do so."

Hands went up almost instantly when the explanation had finished, and despite himself, Iruka nodded to one of the students. "So will we have oddly structured teams then?" A young pink haired girl asked curiously.

"Yes Sakura, a couple of the teams may be oddly structured." Iruka answered with a nod before turning to another student. "Ino?" The scarred man questioned calmly. He had a feeling he knew what was coming from this one, but he wouldn't assume it outright.

"Was it a fight over Sasuke-kun that caused this?" The young blonde girl asked with a smile. This of course brought whispers and murmurs from many others in the class about them wanting to ask the same thing, and from a few about having known she'd ask that.

Iruka himself sighed and shook his head, having predicted the question accurately. "No Ino, this does not have anything to do with Sasuke, and before anyone asks, it does, in fact, have something to do with Naruto...but only in part"

"Hah! I bet they were arguing over who'd get stuck with him!" Ino laughed out, joined quickly by most of the class.

Iruka looked over to Naruto; he could tell the boy was angry, extremely at that. He knew he'd need to defuse the situation, but there was only so much he could say. "Actually!" The man said, speaking louder than he would usually prefer, but only to get everyone's attention. It worked beautifully; as the entire room went quiet and even Naruto turned his full attention to Iruka. "There was a small argument over who would be _allowed _to have him."

The room was now silent enough to hear a senbon drop. Iruka had to admit he was pleased with the result and more than happy about the shocked looks he saw on everyone's faces. He really hadn't wanted to give Naruto's ego such a boost, but he couldn't very well leave it shrivel up in everyone's laughter either. Still, he'd avoided saying anything he shouldn't and still kept things, somewhat, calm.

"Now then, if that is all the questions...I would very much like to get this underway." Iruka said, quite obviously annoyed, and was pleased when no hands went up. "Good, now then, as usual teams will consist of three Genin lead by a Jounin Sensei." He explained rather quickly, before moving on. "Now, as the Jounin have chosen to pick their teams this year, the normal balancing that is done has been forgone."

That said, Iruka looked to the new set of paper in his hands. "This years teams will be team seven; Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke. Your Jounin Sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. Team eight; Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto. Your Jounin Sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai. And finally team ten; Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino. Your Jounin Sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." As Iruka looked back up from his sheet, he was a little surprised to see a calm Naruto and an obviously frustrated Sasuke.

It was a funny role reversal to see honestly. The normally loud Naruto seemed perfectly stoic, most likely just happy to not be on Sasuke's team, while the normally stoic Sasuke looked like he was about ready to pop. His jaw was clinched, his right hand was held in a fist and finally his left eye seemed to be twitching up a storm. He looked almost ready to scream actually.

What was coming next would most likely make it all the worse too, but Iruka couldn't help thinking the Uchiha deserved it. "You are all now dismissed for lunch, be sure to eat with your team and get to know them, and be back in one hour, your sensei will be here to get you then." And true to his expectations, Iruka saw the Uchiha let his head fall forward to slam against his desk before standing and beginning to walk out of the room, along with everyone else.

* * *

Kiba sighed as Naruto again prodded for more information on the Inuzuka clan. Honestly how could the dead last, the worst student in their class, be so interested in this stuff? It was hardly interesting after all, at least in Kiba's opinion that was. They had gotten passed the interesting stuff when there was no more to say about the Inuzuka clan dogs and yet Naruto wanted to know even more.

And of course Shino wasn't being any help at all; the bug user seemed entirely content to just listen to the conversation, though one could hardly call it that. It was more or less Naruto saying 'What else?' each time Kiba tried to stop.

"I believe it is time we returned." Shino finally broke in, saving the Inuzuka from having to explain how clan politics worked. Shino himself was surprised by the blonde's curiosity and seeming thirst of answers. The level of it begged the question, at least to him, of how Naruto had been the dead last. It seemed impossible, logically speaking, that one with such a thirst for knowledge would score so low.

Sadly, the Aburame had hardly anytime to think on this, as they reached the classroom, and were almost immediately greeted by a red eyed woman walking in. "Team eight right?" She questioned as she looked at them. "I'm Kurenai, your Jounin Sensei." And with that, the woman turned and left the room, door still wide open as she began walking down the hall. Pausing a moment, she turned and looked back to the classroom. "Are you three coming?"

* * *

"Ok, this should be a good place." Kurenai said as she stopped in the middle of a training ground; something that made the Genin with her somewhat nervous. "I only brought you here because I find it peaceful." The red eyed woman said with a smile as she sat down on the grass. "Today is simply about getting to know one another, nothing more, nothing less." She said as she motioned to the grass near her. "Take a seat."

With a somewhat doubtful nod Naruto was the first to sit, joined quickly by Kiba and Shino there after. "So...today is just to get to know each other then?" The blonde asked and received a nod. "But...we already did that over lunch...uh well...sort of at least."

At that Kurenai gave a little laugh. "Yes, well maybe you did Naruto, but I wasn't there at that point." The Jounin answered sweetly. "As good as it is for you three to know each other; it would be useful if I knew you as well."

"Oh..." Was the only reply from the blonde at first, and he appeared to be thinking for a moment, before speaking again. "What...sort of things should we talk about?"

"Just the basics, you know, your name, your likes, dislikes, any dreams or ambitions you might have for the future." Kurenai explained kindly. She'd been told of Naruto's neglect at the academy, and how he had been more or less segregated from other children growing up. It was a wonder the boy had the social skills he did in all honesty. "Here, how about I go first, just to demonstrate." The red eyed woman went on as she saw the slight confusion on Naruto's face. "My name is Yuuhi Kurenai, I like working with Genjutsu and reading good books, I dislike prejudice people and those who believe their birth into a clan makes them better than others, and my dream for the future is to become the greatest Genjutsu user in Konoha."

As Kurenai finished, she could see Naruto turning things over in his head, processing it carefully before opening his mouth to speak. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like raman, training and practicing jutsu, I dislike people like Sasuke-teme and the three minutes it takes to cook cup raman and my dream for the future is to become the Hokage and to surpass everyone before me." The blonde explained very seriously.

That the blonde would proclaim he'd become the Hokage wasn't anything new, but to see just how serious he actually seemed to be about it was. If this truly was his goal, then he would have a very long road ahead of him, it could easily be called the hardest road in the shinobi world to walk. Kurenai would have to talk to him alone at some point and see just how serious he was.

The next to go was Kiba, not that it was a surprise, as the Inuzuka could be much louder than even the blonde at times. "My name is Inuzuka Kiba; I like Akamaru here, training, my family and of course all our other dogs." The dog user said, earning a happy yip from the puppy. "My dislikes are cats, mailmen and that damn bird that taps on my window every morning at five..." This statement was punctuated by Akamaru growling and barking three times before Kiba continued on. "And as to my dream for the future; I want create a bunch of new jutsu for my clan and prove that we can be more than just great trackers."

Kurenai nodded at that, it wasn't much of a surprise to her of course, the Inuzuka had some incredibly powerful attacks, but no one knew them for it. Every time you heard of an Inuzuka, it was because they had tracked someone down that was supposedly impossible to find or something equivalent to that.

Next up was Shino, that much was obvious, but it was somewhat surprising to the group when the bug user began speaking with out being asked or told to. "My name is Aburame Shino, my likes are my family and the collection and observation of insects and arachnids, my dislikes are people who judge others with out knowing them and those who hurt other living things with out cause and my dream for the future is to master my clan's jutsu and to be an adequate leader when the time comes."

Kurenai couldn't keep herself from blinking as she ran that back through her head. It would seem, of the three Genin, Shino was the least ambitious; and even his goals were somewhat lofty by comparison of most at their age. The Jounin couldn't help but smile at the three at this point. "Alright, well that seems like a good start to me." The red eyed woman said, once more with a kind smile on her face. "Tomorrow will be a day for assessment, I'll be testing all three of you in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu, we start at nine tomorrow morning, so I want you all to go home and get a good night's rest. Dismissed!" With that last word she vanished before her Genins' eyes, seemingly fading away in a swirl of leaves.

All three Genin stood there, staring at the spot for a moment before finally standing and heading out of the training ground.

* * *

The three Genin continued to walk together as they headed for their respective homes. It was merely chance of course but none of them were arguing the company, two of them were even talking casually about different things, while the third stayed mostly quiet, adding to the conversation only when the other two more or less forced him.

They were halfway through the market district when the quieter of the three finally spoke with out provocation, though what he said would prove very important. "Smoke..." Shino observed quietly, though it was more than enough to get Naruto and Kiba's attention. At their questioning looks, the bug user pointed ahead of them.

As their eyes turned in the direction Shino had indicated, they saw a pillar of smoke rising into the air quite clearly. All three stood there quietly at first, and it wasn't until Naruto took off in a mad dash toward the smoke that the other two realized something was wrong.

With in seconds they followed, hot on Naruto's heels. They were a little surprised when they both realized they had to push themselves pretty hard to even come close to the blonde's pace. Even so, they still weren't matching it perfectly, and were actually losing ground to him as he seemed to go a little faster with each stride.

When they finally caught up to him, it was because he had stopped. They were standing in front of a small apartment complex in a slightly run down part of Konoha; it was the building from which the smoke was rising, and were either of them to guess, where Naruto lived.

Shino's hand twitched as he looked at the building. Something seemed wrong about the scene in front of them. Only one of the apartments seemed to have caught on fire and while the bug user knew it was possible the fire had just been put out that quickly, he had a feeling there was more to this than that.

"Naruto-san..." Shino began monotonously as he continued to stare at the smoking building. "Would I be right in assuming that to be your apartment?" He asked as he turned to look at the blonde. As Naruto nodded yes in answer, Shino seemed to sigh. "Would it also then, be safe to assume this has happened more than once in the past?"

To this too Naruto nodded sadly, before taking a slightly shaky breath and beginning to speak. "Yeah..." The blonde said as he looked to the apartment he'd once called home. "This sort of thing is why I started keeping my precious mementos somewhere else actually."

"How many times...?" Came a quiet question from Kiba, earning a look of surprise from Naruto, who remained quiet, only holding up his hand, all five fingers held up in answer. The dog user didn't try to suppress the growl that escaped before turning and beginning to walk off. "Come on Naruto, we're going to see the Hokage."

Naruto blinked and looked to Shino, who seemed to be distracted by something on his hand before turning to face the blonde himself. "I must agree with Kiba, we should go see Hokage-sama." The bug user said as he turned and began walking in the same direction as the dog user.

With a sigh, Naruto followed his teammates, though he knew the Hokage wouldn't be able to do much, he supposed he should at least go see him. He'd want to hear about this from Naruto, whether or not he'd already been told.

* * *

It had taking them about fifteen minutes the reach the Hokage's tower and then another twenty before the man had been able to see them, but at least they were here now, and things could be handled.

"So, what brings the three of you here today?" The Hokage questioned, though the look on the old man's face made it clear he knew very well what it was.

"It's happened again." Naruto answered before either Kiba or Shino could say anything. "Thankfully I didn't lose anything important this time though...just a few sets of clothes that were getting a bit small anyway." The blonde added almost in passing.

"Sadly I must admit to having already known..." The Hokage said with a small sigh. "But I'm glad you came here to tell me just the same Naruto." The old man added with small, sad smile. "I already have someone looking into this...but if it's the same as the last few times, things will not be too revealing..."

"Yeah..." Naruto said sadly before turning to look out the window behind the Hokage. "Ne...Oji-san, sorry for all the trouble I seem to cause you."

"Naruto..." The old man spoke softly and with a sigh. "How many times have I told you not to think like that?" He added as he stood and walked over to the boy, placing his hand on his shoulder. "These things are not your fault, and thus you should not blame yourself for them."

"Yeah, but still..." The blonde began again, only to be cut off by the Hokage.

"No buts Naruto, these things are not your fault." The old man said again, this time sternly. "Your pranks on the other hand..." At that both the blonde and old man began laughing, much to the surprise of the other two in the room.

It wasn't exactly something either had expected to see. That anyone outside of family could be so close to the Hokage was amazing, but for it to be Naruto, it was nearly incomprehensible.

After the two quieted, they turned their attention back to Shino and Kiba, having half forgotten about them. "I must thank the two of you as well." The Hokage said as he returned to his desk. "It is nice to see he has such loyal teammates as you two."

"Thank you Hokage-sama, but we only did what we felt was right." Shino said in answer to the slight praise while Kiba nodded in agreement. "I am sure that, were the situation reversed, and something happened with Kiba or myself, that Naruto-san would be there beside us as well."

"Still, thank you both." The old man said once more before setting on a new subject. "I have something I need to ask the two of you." The Hokage began seriously, pausing only long enough to be sure he had their attention before continuing. "As I am sure you have both figured out, Naruto is with out a place to stay for the moment; and sadly, it will be at least a weak before new quarters will become available..."

Shino and Kiba both got where this was going quickly, it wasn't too hard to figure out after all. It was Shino who answered first though. "As much as I would like to offer it, I am afraid I can not." The bug user explained with what the Hokage thought might be a frown hidden behind his coat collar. "A recent failed experiment concerning termites caused two of our buildings to collapse before the issue could be rectified."

The Hokage gave an understanding nod when he heard that. He'd seen a report on the incident a few days ago and if he remembered correctly, the experiment had been one the Aburame's clan council had strictly forbidden, and with the results he could certainly understand why.

"He can stay with my clan." Kiba said before anyone could ask the question again.

"Are you sure Kiba?" The Hokage asked, sounding a little unsure of the offer. Tsume, the Inuzuka's current clan head, wasn't exactly known for being hospitable to surprise visitors, and with it being Naruto...

"I'm sure." Kiba answered with a nod. "I know mom has a reputation when it comes to surprise visitors, but in this case, she'd be pissed worse if I didn't make the offer."

"I see..." Came the old man's reply, still sounding unsure. "Very well then, I suppose I will simply have to trust your judgment." The Hokage said with a nod. "I will be in touch as soon as I can find a new place for Naruto, or if something new comes to light, until then; dismissed." With that, the old man expected to see all three Genin leave, but as he looked up, he found Shino still sitting in his chair.

"Aren't you coming Shino?" Naruto asked, sounding a little bewildered. When the Hokage said dismissed, it meant you got up and left.

"Go on with out me." Shino answered as he looked back to his two teammates. "I have something I need to talk with Hokage-sama about in private." The boy said as he turned back to the old man.

"It's ok Naruto." The Hokage said with a nod. "Shino has been acting as a conveyer for messages and updates between his father and I these last few days." The old man explained. It was a lie, of course, but he already understood that Shino had something important to say, something best said in secret. "We will likely be a while, so you two should go ahead home."

"Oh." Was all Naruto said before nodding and heading out of the office with Kiba.

"Am I safe in assuming this is to do with what happened to Naruto's apartment?" The Hokage questioned seriously, and earned a nod from the bug user.

* * *

The walk to the Inuzuka estate was quite, despite the normally loud nature of the two, both seemed to have things on their minds as they walked the streets of Konoha. For Naruto it was mostly nervousness over the possible rejection when this was brought to Kiba's mom.

As for Kiba, it was simply beginning to sink in just how risky this might be. There was no doubt in the dog user's mind about Naruto being allowed to stay, that wasn't where the risk was. The risk was in the blonde finding out a secret Kiba had long been keeping; one Kiba simply wasn't ready to let out yet.

With both lost in their own thoughts and worries, the two Genin hardly realized it as they arrived at the estate. It was now, that one of them finally chose to speak. "Listen, Kiba...before we go in, I just wanted to say thanks for this, no matter if your mom says yes or no, just...thanks for even making the offer."

Kiba nodded in response to this before speaking as well. "You're welcome, and as to that last bit, don't worry about it." The dog user said with a smile. "It's like I said to the Hokage, mom would have been pissed at me if I hadn't made the offer."

Naruto still looked a little unsure, but nodded just the same. As Kiba opened the door and walked in, the blonde followed. Removing his sandals before stepping up onto the hardwood flooring of the house and following Kiba even further in.

Naruto looked around as they walked through the house, turning corners here and there as they headed for where the blonde could only assume Tsume would be found. He had to admit the place was cleaner than he'd expected, by a good margin no less. After a little bit, the blonde stopped looking around and simply looked ahead, making sure to follow Kiba precisely.

It was as they turned another corner that they finally ran into someone. Naruto was a little nervous, to say the least, he was expecting things to turn south now, especially since this guy looked old enough to know.

So distracted by his own thoughts and expectations of what was to happen next, Naruto hadn't heard Kiba asking the guy where everyone else was, or where they could find Tsume. In fact the blonde almost missed it when the guy had addressed him by name.

"Uzumaki Naruto, right?" The guy asked with a smile, and Naruto simply gave a stunned nod in reply. "Thought so, so your one of little Kiba's new teammates huh?" The guy posed another question, though it was obvious even to the blonde that this one was rhetorical. "Tsume is just going to love this; she's wanted to get her cl..." The man was cut off by Kiba's hand covering his mouth.

"This would be a good time for you to shut up Kyo." Kiba growled out before pulling the hand away from the guy's mouth and starting back down the hallway. Not even looking back to make sure Naruto was following.

Naruto wasted no time in following though, as he got the distinct feeling it'd be a bad idea to not. "...do I even want to know what that was about?" The blonde asked, obviously now a little worried.

"You'll find out sooner or later..." Kiba sighed in answer. "But for now, just know it's nothing to be worried about, ok?"

Naruto nodded, still a little unsure. He could already tell this was something not to ask too much about, he could tell that just by the way Kiba had acted with the other guy. After another minute or so of following the dog user quietly, Naruto saw a woman who looked a lot like Kiba walking toward them, a large black dog walking beside her. If he were to guess, that was Tsume, and the dog, well he had no idea but it was probably the same thing to her as Akamaru was to Kiba.

"Ah, Kiba, there you are." The woman said with a fanged smile. "I was just coming to see if you were home." She added before looking to Naruto. "Uzumaki...?" The woman questioned, sounding almost stunned. "Kiba...?"

"Uh...well you see..." The dog user began nervously. "Naruto is a member of my new Genin team, and well..."

"My apartment was burned earlier today..." The blonde took over the explanation. "It wasn't until after we met with our Jounin that we found out it had happened, and Kiba and Shino, our other teammate, were kind enough to go with me to the Hokage's office to report it."

"I see." Tsume said with a nod. "So then, you need a place to stay for a little bit, right?" She asked in a calm voice, earning a nod from the blonde. "Very well then, you're free to stay as long as needed, I'll see that there's a room prepared for you before dinner."

Naruto looked at the woman in front of him, more than a little stunned at the moment. "I...you...its uh...its ok with you?" The blonde asked a little dumbly, getting a nod from Tsume as his answer, which stunned him all the more.

The Inuzuka clan head gave the boy a minute to collect himself before she continued. "Tell me Uzumaki, is it safe to assume you lost most of you clothes in the fire?" The woman asked seriously, and got a nod back from the blonde. "Ah, you shouldn't take this the wrong way, but good." At this Naruto looked at the woman who was giving him a fanged smile and simply stared. Had she seriously just said that? "Kuro, take Uzumaki to the clan tailor and see that he is provided with a few sets clothing, befitting a shinobi...oh and make sure the tailor takes the clothes he's wearing now and burns them as soon as possible."

"I...um...huh?" Naruto questioned, as things began to sink in. "But...I like my clothes." The boy said as the black dog, apparently named Kuro, walked over to him and looked up at him in a way that simply said, 'Follow me or else.'.

"Consider it a price of staying here if you must Uzumaki." Tsume said passively, before adding in a voice that left no room for argument. "I will not allow any shinobi who sleeps under this roof, to dress as you do right now." She explained firmly as she waved the boy off. "Now I'd get a move on before Kuro decides to drag you, he's not exactly the most patient of dogs."

Naruto gulped at that and followed the black dog off, walking more than a little stiff as he did.

"Now then..." Tsume said once Naruto was out of sight. "I think you and I need to have a little talk Kiba." The woman added, and Kiba couldn't help the gulp that followed.

* * *

Kiba sighed and flopped right into bed, mentally and physically exhausted. That talk had actually been two, one about the secret, which Tsume had figured out Kiba was keeping in all of five seconds, and the other about Naruto. On the subject of the secret, the woman had merely said it wasn't safe to keep that sort of thing from your teammates and had suggested trying to tell Naruto first.

As to the talk of Naruto though, it had come as somewhat of a surprise. Tsume had actually told Kiba to find away to make to blonde want to stay. Something about not needing permission from the village council to let him move in or something like that.

The dog user was simply too tired right now to understand it all, hopefully a good night's rest would be all it took to make sense of things. With that thought, Kiba let sleep win out and fell into dream with a final exhausted sigh.

* * *

Kiba's eye twitched at the tapping sound that emanated somewhere to the left, no doubt from the window and no doubt made by a very small, very annoying bird. "I seriously hate you..." The dog user whispered hoarsely while getting out of bed.

Looking to the clock that sat no more than three feet away, it read just as expected. It was once again five in the morning, and once again there was no hope for further sleep. Kiba had tried a few times before, and the bird seemed insistent that the dog user wake.

With a sigh of resignation Kiba walked over to the closest and grabbed a fresh set of clothes before heading for the bathroom. 'Its times like this I'm glad the other room that shares this bathroom is empty.' Kiba thought tiredly and began to strip away yesterday's clothing, tossing it into the hamper to be washed later.

* * *

Naruto woke with a bit of a start, a knock at the door of the room he'd be given having brought the blonde out of a rather nice dream. Unable to fight a yawn as he rose, the blonde walked to the door and slid it open.

On the other side of the door stood a man Naruto recognized from yesterday. He was the Inuzuka tailor Kuro had taken him too. The elderly man hadn't exactly been what Naruto was expecting when he'd heard Tsume give the black dog his instructions. He'd expected to be lead to a tailor somewhere else in Konoha, but the man was, in fact, a part of the Inuzuka clan.

It was with a smile that the man handed a package to Naruto, who was obviously still half asleep. He had worked through the night on this one set, so the boy would be able to show up at breakfast in them. The old man knew this was what would please Tsume most. But he had other reasons for getting this first set finished quickly, among them, the desire to destroy that horrid outfit the blonde had first come to him in. "These should be to your liking Uzumaki." Old man assured as the boy took the package from him. "Now remember, you promised you would have your old...'clothes' to me before six."

Naruto nodded to the old man as he said that. "Yeah, yeah, I remember." Naruto said somewhat sourly. He still didn't understand what was so bad about his old clothes. "I'll be by to drop them off as soon as I clean up." The blonde said with a sigh and shut the door.

Looking to the clock that sat beside the bed, he gave yet another sigh. It was only five in the morning, and yet no matter how much he'd prefer it, he couldn't go back to bed. He'd never been what you'd call a morning person; it was only when training got involved that it seemed he could wake early.

Muttering some unintelligible phrase under his breath, the blonde moved over to the bed and opened the package. Pulling the new clothing out, he turned and headed for the bathroom, opening the door with out even thinking and took a step in, only to turn around and slam it back shut immediately. His face was red enough to make any rose turn green with envy.

* * *

"Would you please just say something!?" Kiba near yelled at Naruto as the two walked down the halls of the Inuzuka compound, heading toward the tailor's. The dog user had been trying to talk to the blonde for a while now, and couldn't get so much as a word out of him. "You can't just pretend it didn't happen!"

"I can sure as hell try!" Naruto finally said, sounding a little harsher than he'd meant to. They were now stopped just outside the tailor's room, Naruto still facing away from Kiba. There was a light blush on his cheeks even now, and he honestly hated himself for it.

"No, you can't!" Kiba said again, sounding rather pissed at this point. "What happened can't be undone, what you saw can't be unseen and what you learned can't be forgotten, either you deal with and talk to me or you let it cause problems."

"And how exactly am I supposed to deal with something like that?" Naruto asked back, this time all too quietly and it was obvious even to Kiba that he was shaking a little. Whether it be from anger or something else was unclear though.

"I know it probably doesn't make a difference now..." Kiba sighed. "But I had honestly planned on telling you before breakfast today."

At this, Naruto sighed as well, seeming to calm down a bit as he did. "I just don't understand why you hid it..." The blonde said as he finally turned to face the slightly depressed looking Kiba. "I mean, I get why you would when we were younger...but as we got older that sort of thing stopped mattering."

"I know, I know." Kiba said with a frustrated sigh. "I just...by that time, I had become worried about you and the others hating me for keeping it a secret in the first place...I just...I felt trapped."

"Oh..." Was all Naruto could bring himself to say to that. In the end it made sense, and were the situation reversed, he could very easily see himself doing the same thing. Even so, this was going to take some getting used to. After all, it drastically altered his views of Kiba, and some of the views it effected were a little...unsettling at first. "I can't promise to treat you the same as before..." The blonde began, speaking quietly. "But I'm not upset over it...just a little...freaked out...I guess..."

Kiba nodded in understanding, more than able to comprehend how that would be possible. "Yeah...I think I would be too...if the situation was reversed..." The dog user said with a small sad smile. "After all...it isn't everyday you find out someone you think is a guy is actually a girl..."


	2. Don't believe in Secrets

Naruto fiddled with the sleeve of his new jacket as he, Kiba and Shino made their way toward the training ground they were to meet Kurenai at. As he'd thought, these new clothes were going to take almost as much adjusting to as the idea of Kiba being a girl, though not for the reasons he had expected.

Originally he'd thought the color change would be the hardest thing to adjust to but that had proven simple in comparison to all the compartments the tailor had add in. Honestly, he had never seen so many pockets in his life. Most were apparently for armor inserts, at least that's what the tailor had told him when he'd asked while dropping off his old clothes, but even subtracting those still left over twenty pockets, some hidden, others not.

And each one had any number of uses, from storing and hiding spare kunai, senbon or shuriken to holding food pills, smoke bombs, flash bombs or scrolls. The prankster in him was excited to have so many options, but the rest felt a bit overwhelmed by it all. The blonde began fiddling with his other sleeve as he continued to run everything through his head again and again.

"Would you stop that already?" Kiba asked, sounding more than a little annoyed. "The clothes look fine, so just stop, ok?" The dog user raised a hand to stop Naruto as the blonde opened his mouth, presumably to complain. "And I don't want to hear a word about there not being any orange."

Naruto looked almost insulted by the last part of that comment, and made to speak again, only to be cut off by Shino this time. "Kiba-san is correct; the new colors suit you much better than the orange and blue had Naruto-san." The bug user said as they arrived at the training field.

Naruto's eye began to twitch as he took a somewhat deep breath. "Would you two please stop assuming you know what I'm going to say already!?" The blonde near screamed before taking another deep breath, sighing lightly when neither made to speak. "Good...now as I was going to say..." He began, clearing his throat before continuing. "It has nothing to do with the color or how they look...I'm just sort of overwhelmed by the pockets..."

Shino blinked a few times behind his glasses, not fully understanding at first. Naruto's new clothing seemed rather normal to the Aburame as he looked it over, and in many ways the same as it had been. There were a few key differences though, such as the the change to a green and black color scheme, an addition of a hood to the jacket and pants that actually seemed to fit the blonde, other than that, they seemed very much the same. "I...do not fully comprehend what you mean Naruto-san..."

"Hmm...?" Naruto began as he looked over at Shino. It took him a minute to realize the bug user wouldn't know about the hidden pockets and that he'd need to be a little informative. "Oh...ah, the tailor who made these added a lot of hidden pockets...and it's just a little overwhelming to try and remember them all..." The blonde explained with a sheepish smile.

Kiba sighed upon hearing this, finally realizing why Naruto kept fiddling with the sleeves. "I see...so that old coot made you that sort of clothing..." The dog user said in an understanding tone. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised though...that sort of thing would be fitting for Konoha's prankster king."

Naruto blinked at that statement, and was about to ask exactly what Kiba meant by it, but Kurenai arrived before he could. It would just have to wait he supposed.

"Well, its good to see we're all here on time." Kurenai said with a smile as she walked up to the three genin. "Before we get started though, I heard from Hokage-sama about yesterday's events, and I just want to be sure everyone is ok."

All three genin nodded in response to the quasi-question, before Naruto spoke. "All things considered, I think we're all fine." The blonde said with a smile. "None of us were hurt, and though I lost my apartment, I didn't lose anything important, so it's ok."

"Ok, as long as you're sure." The red eyed woman said with a small nod. "But I want you to know, if you need anyone to talk to, about anything at all, my door is always open, ok?" Getting a nod from Naruto, she went on a little. "That goes for the two of you as well, Kiba, Shino, if you need to talk, I'm always willing to listen."

Both genin in question now nodded their understanding as well, before Kiba finally chose to speak. "Alright, now can we get this underway? I'm hyped to show off my skills!"

Kurenai gave a small laugh at the excitement she was seeing; she couldn't help but wonder just how long it'd last. "Very well then, get started we shall." She said with a smile as she pulled out three kunai, she could see all three genin visible tense. "Ok, here's the deal. I will be your opponent for today's test, you may all come at me at once, but I have a gift for the first one of you who lands a solid hit against me." The red eyed woman said, her smile turning to a smirk. "It's a luxury package coupon to the Konoha hot springs." The woman's smirk deepened ever so slightly as she saw the body language of all three genin change ever so slightly; she knew she had them. "Oh, and one last thing; you have three hours to do so, now, begin!"

With that, Naruto and Kiba both charged at the red eyed jounin, and Shino let loose a swam of his kikai, but before any of them could even register it, Kurenai was gone, and as they did realize it, all three shared the same thought. 'This can't be good...'

* * *

Naruto pulled himself from the hole in which he'd been trapped, only to collapse to the ground panting. He was at his limit, mentally and physically; things had gone south with their first charge on Kurenai-sensei after she had said to begin. After that little vanishing act of her's, the jounin had quickly forced the genin to scatter, and it only got worse from there.

Attack after attack he'd suffered from the jounin, and at the end of each, he'd end up trapped by one means or another. Be it genjutsu or hanging upside-down by one of his feet or, in this latest case, at the bottom of a rather deep hole.

He'd realized after her last attack, against which he'd used over fifty of his clones, which had been all but useless, just how out matched he was. He wasn't sure what had brought on that realization, but it was there now, and it bothered him, a lot. How was he supposed to land a hit against her like this? With the way she fought the only chance he'd stand was if he had help...as the that realization struck him the blonde's worn mind began to tick, and for once, it seemed he could actually hear it...

Naruto sat bolt upright as comprehension reached him, the pieces falling into place one by one. That was the whole point of this, there was no way for any one of them to do this alone, and that's why she'd said they could come at her at the same time, because she knew it. But she couldn't make it that easy, the team had to be tested, but not the way they had thought.

This whole test was about teamwork, to see if they could work together, but even that wasn't enough, not for a true test, and so the coupon was added, to give them a reason to not work together. In the end, this test wasn't just about teamwork, but about seeing if they could set aside personal gain for the team.

Now he understood, he truly understood. If they failed this, there would be more to pay than simply missing out on the hot springs. He needed to find Shino and Kiba, now! But with the shape he was in, and the fact that Kurenai would attack every time he tried to make a move...

The blonde smirked as his prankster side began churning out a plan. He suddenly found himself chuckling on the inside as a feeling of renewed vigor washed over him; it seemed his days as a prankster were about to pay off. With one simple seal, he would put his plan into action.

* * *

Kurenai felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin the prickle as she felt Naruto's chakra build and release. That boy had no subtlety when it came to his chakra it seemed, but still that had been a lot of chakra, even for Naruto.

Looking back to her current victim, she saw Kiba stumble somewhat dumbly, trapped inside a genjutsu, one that would likely take at least half an hour to break. With a nod to herself, she took off for Naruto's location, intent on finishing up with him this time.

She'd given them all about two hours now, and she had yet to see any indication that they had figured it out. It was sad really, she had been so hopeful after what the Hokage had told her, she had thought she'd get to keep her first team, but now it seemed, she'd have no choice but to send them back to the academy.

It was with a sigh that she reached Naruto's location, finding a mass of shadow clones waiting on her. As she'd thought, it was simply another attempt to overwhelm her. As she attacked the Naruto hoard, the small red fox that slipped away into the trees didn't even catch her eye.

* * *

Shino sighed as he found Kiba stumbling about blindly, obviously trapped in a genjutsu. There simply wasn't time for this. The bug user reached out and grasped the dog user's shoulder, using his own chakra in hopes of nullifying that of the genjutsu.

Kiba stumbled one last time before the world stopped spinning and everything came back into focus. Shaking her head and looking over to Shino, she grumbled out her thanks before looking around from Akamaru, he was only a few feet away, trapped in net.

With a shake of her head, she moved to free the pup, but stopped as she heard a low growl begin to emit from his throat, turning to where Akamaru seemed to be growling. She tensed as she reached for her weapons pack and pulled out two kunai, watching from the corner of here eye as Shino slowly moved back and to the side for a flanking position.

The bush rustled as something came out, but the tension died as soon as she saw what it was. "Quiet down Akamaru, it's only a fox." Kiba said as she walked over and reached down to free the puppy and pick him up. Looking back to the fox after getting Akamaru settled in her coat, she frozen. It had eyes like... "Naruto...?"

The fox nodded in answer to the question before reverting back the blonde in question in a puff of smoke. "Not to be pushy, but we gotta move." The blonde said without any preamble. "I'll explain everything on the way, but for right now, just come on! She's already destroyed all but ten of my clones." He added when they both looked at him questioningly, but said no more before jumping off into the trees.

"I must agree with Naruto-san on this." Shino agreed as he turned to follow the blond. "Here is not the best place to be right now." With that he jumped off after Naruto, followed quickly by Kiba.

"Ok...so why exactly are we doing what Naruto says?" Kiba asked as she caught up with the other two.

"Because, if we don't put together a plan and work together to land a hit on Kurenai-sensei in the next forty five minutes, we'll probably lose more than a chance to go to the hot springs for free." Naruto answered all to seriously.

"So then...you too have figured it out, Naruto-san." Shino stated as he adjusted his glasses. "That this is more than simply a test of our abilities, correct?"

Kiba blinked even as she saw Naruto nodding his head. "Wait, if this isn't a test of our abilities, then what is it?" The dog user questioned; the confusion more than apparent in her voice.

"Simply put Kiba-san?" Shino half asked, half said. "It is a test to see if we can work together as a team, even when given reason not to."

"Oh..." Was all the reply Kiba gave as they continued to jump from tree to tree, finally reaching the training grounds this whole event had started in. "Huh...? Why are back here though? Why not go after Sensei if we're so pressed for time?"

"Because, in just a second, she'll be coming to us." Naruto said as he focused and then dispelled what few clones now remained. "We won't have a lot of time to prepare in, but I have a plan if you're willing to listen."

To the blonde's surprise, Shino turned his full attention to him, as did Kiba, though the latter looked a little doubtful. Though, with his track record in the academy, he couldn't quite blame her. "Alright then, here's what we're gonna do..."

Kurenai cursed herself as she jumped from tree to tree, searching out her genin. She couldn't believe she'd fallen for that trick so easily, or so completely. She should have known something was up when she'd seen the number of clones Naruto had made, but she had written that off as an attempt to simply overwhelm her.

In fact, she hadn't even begun to suspect something until it was down to the last three clones, even then she was heavily doubting her suspicions. This was Naruto after all, the supposed worst genin in his class. She hated herself for so quickly falling into that mindset, for so quickly forgetting the reason she fought so damnably hard to get the boy put on her team.

This was the boy that had not only learned, but mastered an upper jounin class ninjutsu in less than an hour, the boy who had defeated a mid level chuunin in less than a minute and Konoha's legendary prankster king no less. His chakra capacity meant he had a potential that quite possible surpassed that of the sannin, and he was even rumored to have evaded capture by a full squad of ANBU trackers for over three hours, before finally being caught by his academy teacher, the only man it seemed ever could catch the blonde.

She should have known better than to just discount him like that. And now, she was paying for it. Not only was Naruto no where to be found, but she had lost complete track of Kiba and Shino as well.

It was only after ten minutes of searching, that she finally found one of the genin. Shino was standing in the middle of the training field in which this little exercise had begun. He seemed to simply be waiting there, as if there was nothing to worry about, simply looking straight on, seemingly at nothing.

It wasn't until the bug user's head turned to look right at her, that she realized she was in trouble. But by then, it was too late to react, and she found herself quickly caught up in a swarm of kikai, she was forced to jump from her perch, out into the clearing to avoid begin swarmed by even more.

That would prove to be her second mistake of the day, the first having been her underestimation of Naruto, and her third would be following all too quickly as she landed. She needed to get the kikai off her, and the only quick solution for doing that, was water. Of course, this had been one of the reasons she'd chosen this training field in particular; it had a small pond on one end, and a stream running through it on the other.

That meant a quick suiton jutsu and she'd be freed of the bugs. Even as Shino began to sprint at her, she began to flash through the seals, preparing the jutsu to strike both Shino and herself.

"Juujin bunshin no Jutsu!" Came a cry from behind the jounin, and it was now that she realized her third mistake was even starting her jutsu. She was dedicated now, she'd pulled up the chakra for it, and if she let go of it, it'd be absorbed by Shino's bugs almost instantly, and if she didn't, she'd be unable to dodge the attack she knew was coming at her from behind. She simply didn't have the focus to continue the jutsu and dodge.

Letting go of her chakra with another self loathing curse, she dodged the attack from behind, seeing two feral looking versions of Kiba strike the spot she'd been standing moments ago. She'd lost a lot of chakra to Shino's bugs thanks to that, and now she couldn't afford to try it again. This left her with only one choice, submerging in the pond itself. The stream just wouldn't be deep enough.

As she landed from her dodge, Kurenai made a brake for the pound; mistake number four. As she reached the water time itself seem to slow as several things happened at once. Shino's bugs pulled back, both the feral Kibas smirked, and five yellow and green blurs shot from the water at once, each tackling her to the ground and pinning her there.

Kurenai sighed in resignation, not even attempting to fight against the clones. She was nearly out of chakra, and they probably knew it. This had all been planned out, and she had fallen for it completely. "Very well...you win." She conceded, and the five Naruto clones holding her down vanished instantly, as did a number of near by stones and to her surprise, a multitude of leaves that had been blowing about in the wind. Naruto himself surfacing from under the pond's surface with a reed in his mouth, and a wide grin plastered around it.

As the jounin sat up, Kiba, Akamaru, now a puppy once more and Shino made their way over, even as Naruto pulled himself from the pond and to his feet. Taking a hand that Naruto was now offering, Kurenai found herself pulled quickly to her feet, and then turned to the three genin. "First and foremost, I must congratulate you three on doing a great job of working together, and second...on a very well conceived plan." The jounin said, looking at Shino.

The bug user opened his mouth, ready to correct her, but was cut off by Naruto before he could. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" The blonde said with a grin aimed at Shino. He could tell the bug user was confused, but he had his reasons for letting Kurenai think what she wanted.

"Of course, Shino isn't the only one who deserves credit here." Kurenai said before anyone else could talk. "Naruto, your distraction ploy earlier worked like a charm, and it even kept me from detecting that Shino and Kiba were making moves, so you deserve a fair amount of the credit too."

Naruto blushed at this, he wasn't used to this kind of praise, but it only took him a moment to shake it off and just give a big grin. "Thanks, Kurenai-sensei, but I just sort of got lucky with that. If Shino hadn't found Kiba and I, I still don't think it would have made a difference."

"Don't sell yourself short Naruto, even managing to elude a jounin is a big deal, but to be able to hide not only your movements, but those of others from one, that's something to be proud of." Kurenai said with a smile. "Now then, though I think you've already figured it out, I want to explain what today was really about."

Waiting a moment before continuing, the red eyed jounin explained the principles by which most Konoha shinobi lived, and why they were important. She also explained why she had done what she'd done, and finally told them of what would have happened if they had failed to realize it before time ran out.

In the end, it had left the genin with something to think about as they headed home. Kurenai had told them to meet in front of the Hokage's tower the following morning by nine, so they could get their first mission, and with that sent the on their way home.

* * *

The three walked home together as they had the prior day, again, mostly because they all lived in this direction. Unlike yesterday however, they all remained quiet, until that was, it came time for Shino to depart.

Kiba and Naruto had both stopped when the bug user did so, looking at him questioningly as he adjusted his glasses. "I wish to ask you something before I take my leave of you and Kiba-san, Naruto-san..." Shino began in that same monotone he seemed to always use, continuing only after getting a nod from Naruto. "Why did you not tell Kurenai-sensei the truth back at the training field?"

Naruto sighed upon hearing the question. He should have expected that Shino would want to know. "I'm not supposed to be that smart Shino, I'm the dead last of the academy after all." The blonde said with a sad smile while shaking his head a little. "If Kurenai-sensei knew, she'd expect me to do it again...I don't know if I can."

Shino just nodded at hearing that; getting the feeling he was seeing a rare side of Naruto right now. "Then I shall respect your wishes Naruto-san, but know this..." The bug user said all too calmly. "I too wish to see you do that again, and I shall not stop until I see it once more." With that, Shino turned and began walking down a side road that led off into a slightly wooded area.

"And I hope I can show it to you..." Naruto said quietly, before turning to Kiba. "Ne Kiba...would you like to join me for ramen?" The blonde asked with a hopeful smile. "It'll be my treat, ok?"

Kiba shook her head in answer, before explaining. "We have to get back home; mom wants us to report for training as soon as possible." The dog user explained while scratching Akamaru behind the ears.

"Oh...I see." Naruto said, sounding a little disappointed. "I guess I'll just catch up with you there later then." The blonde added with a sigh.

"And what part of we and us didn't you get exactly?" Kiba asked, grabbing a hold of the blonde's jacket. Honestly, how dumb could you get?

"Wha...me too? But...I thought you meant you and Akamaru..." Naruto answered, sounding more than a little surprised.

Kiba shook her head to that before pulling the blonde in the direction of the Inuzuka compound. "No, she said she wanted both of us home as soon as we got done. Though she didn't elaborate on why any further than saying it was for training."

"But...why me?" Naruto questioned dumbly, now walking along side the dog user. "D-don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be included in any sort of training...but I'm not an Inuzuka...so...why? I mean, won't it cause problems?"

Kiba fought back laughter as she launched into a little explanation on the Inuzuka and training. "Naruto, unless our clan's protected jutsu are involved, we hold a very open view of training." The dog user said with a smile. "In fact, our usual attitude about it is 'The more the merrier'. So this is hardly a surprise."

"Oh..." Was all Naruto said in return to that as they continued their way home. 'Home...I've got to stop thinking of it like that...' The blonde chided himself silently as the two kept walking. 'They're just being nice, and letting me stay for a little bit, its not permanent, and eventually I'll have to leave...so there's no sense in letting myself get used to it...' With the last bit of that thought, the blonde squashed all other attempts his mind made to drift to the subject, and focused on other things, like mentally prepping for the upcoming training.

* * *

"Mom, we're home!" Kiba called as she and Naruto walked through the front door, her call was met with a head poking around a corner in the entry hall, though it wasn't Tsume, Kiba still smiled. "Nee-chan, taking a break from the dogs? That's kinda unlike you."

"Actually Kaa-san is with them right now..." The older girl explained as she came around to corner completely. "She sent me to come see if you and Uzumaki were back yet. She's in the usual spot, so go on already."

"Feh, your so cold sometimes Nee-chan." Kiba frowned as she walked past the older girl, headed for the clan training field, followed by Naruto. "Sorry about the way she acts." Kiba said over her shoulder to Naruto, once they had gotten out of ear shot. "She's cold to everyone but the dogs, always has been really...I guess that's why she became a vet though."

Naruto just shrugged it off as he kept pace with Kiba; it honestly hadn't bothered him that much. Besides, it was better than what he normally got. "Its ok..." Naruto said after a little bit, a small smile on his lips. "I'm used to being treated somewhat coldly..." The blonde added, looking somewhat sheepish.

Kiba turned away quickly as she blushed; she took a deep breath and tried to fight the tinge on her cheeks down. This wasn't her, she wasn't supposed to get like this, especially not when Naruto was concerned. "Ah...so..."

"About the training..." Naruto cut in, his mind already off on other topics. "What should I expect?"

"Ah, not anything too drastic." Kiba answered quickly, all too happy to jump on the supplied subject. "Taijutsu mostly I'd expect, though she might try to teach you a few of our lesser tracking jutsu too."

"Really?" Naruto asked with a sudden spark of excitement in his voice. "Now I can't wait! A tracking jutsu huh? I wonder how it works; I bet I'll be able to improve it after she teaches it to me too, then I'll..." The blonde's excited rant was cut off by Kiba's hand covering his mouth as they reached the back door.

"You get excited a little too easily...you know that?" The dog user questioned with a sigh before removing her hand to reveal another of those sheepish grins. "Trust me when I say, that any tracking jutsu she teaches you won't be all that special." Kiba explained with a sigh. "Most of the good ones are protected, and can't even be taught to an Inuzuka till they make chuunin, so if she does teach you one, and I make no promise she will, it will only be a very simple one, ok?"

Naruto nodded his understanding, but couldn't hide the fact that he was still excited. Even the slightest chance of learning a new jutsu was enough to get him like this. He couldn't help it, it was just who he was.

As the two walked out into the training field, Naruto found himself frozen in shock at the sight before him. He hadn't realized just how many dogs the Inuzuka clan had till now. How on earth did they afford to feed them all?

"Surprised Uzumaki?" Tsume asked as she walked up to the two, earning only a stunned nod from the blonde. "You know, truth be told, this is only about a third of them." She said, and she almost couldn't fight back the laugh that wanted to come out as the blonde's head whipped around to stare at her in shock. "The rest are out on missions or out hunting." She finished with a smirk.

"Don't listen to her Naruto, this is actually about three fourths of them, she's just trying to mess with you." Kiba explained, smirking when her mom frowned.

"Honestly Kiba, you're worse than Hana when it comes to ruining my fun." Tsume frowned for a moment, before cutting back to a smile. "Ah well, on to the reason the two of you are here; training."

That was all it took to snap Naruto completely out of his stupor; the blonde having turned the whole of his attention on Tsume before the two present Inuzuka could even blink.

'Well, that was fairly simple.' Tsume thought with a fanged grin as she looked at the blonde. Maybe he'd be easier to train that she had originally thought. "Right, Kiba, you and Akamaru are going to be training with Kuro for today, while I run Naruto through the basics, just to see where he is, ok?"

Kiba nodded to this, and walked over to where she could see the black dog, Akamaru following at her heals.

"Tsume?" Naruto spoke before the woman could start with anything. He was already a bit calmer now than before, and there was a question he had now. At the Inuzuka head's nod, the blonde continued. "Why...why are you doing this?" He asked timidly.

This was an odd sight for Tsume, Konoha's number one loud and hyper resident was standing in front of her, almost as timid as a mouse. Seeing something like this, it just didn't sit right with her. "Because of a promise I once made." Tsume explained calmly, as she thought back to a time before the Kyuubi, a time before she had lost a very dear friend. 'Would it be ok to tell him Kushina, if I don't tell him your name?' "I'm afraid I can't explain anymore than that though...not yet at least."

Naruto nodded his understanding, he was curious now, but the look in Tsume's eyes told him enough to know she was being truthful. "I...I understand. Thank you for telling me that much at least." The blonde said with a small bow.

"Of course...oh and Naruto..." Tsume said as her eyes suddenly seemed to gleam with deadly intent. "From here on, you will call me Tsume-san or sensei, is that clear?" Getting an obviously frightened nod from the blonde, Tsume grinned and gave a small bow of her own before clearing her throat. "Right, now then, we'll begin with taijutsu." Tsume began in a much different tone, her eyes sharpened and focused. "Show me your best form."

Naruto nodded and proceeded to get into a sloppy version of one of the academies basic taijutsu stances, which only made Tsume frown. Had anyone even tried to correct the boy's form? Honestly, she'd seen pre-academy children with better form.

'Forgive me for taking so long my friend...' The woman thought as she told Naruto to run through a few kata. 'It seems he could have used me much sooner...if only I could have gotten to him.' Tsume's eye twitched as she mental ticked off Naruto's twentieth mistake, and this was only one kata in.

"Ok, that's enough..." Tsume said with a disappointed sigh, stopping the boy halfway through his second kata. "You're self taught, aren't you Naruto?" The woman asked, though they both knew that she didn't need Naruto to answer; he nodded anyway. "That's what I thought..." She gave the boy a sad smile before whistling, calling one of the many dogs over. "Go inform the council on my behalf that I will be teaching Uzumaki one of our taijutsu styles, if any of them try complaining, just tell them that it is the unprotected one, and remind them that I am the clan head."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he realized what had just been said. She was going to teach him one of their taijutsu styles? "Is...is that really ok Tsume-san?" The blonde questioned worriedly. "I don't want to cause any problems for you..."

"As I told my messenger to the council, this Inuzuka taijutsu style in unprotected, and as it stand it's been out of use since before my time, heck the only reason I know it is because I am the clan head. And as such, it is my right to teach it to anyone I choose." Tsume said with a smirk. "Besides, there's only one guy on that brittle boned council that's willing to stand up to me, and he's just pissed because I managed to repeal his ability to arrange marriages."

Naruto nodded his understanding to that, besides he didn't really like the idea of people arranging marriages, so it suited him just fine if Tsume teaching him this taijutsu style pissed off a guy who liked to do that sort of thing.

"Now then this Inuzuka style is quite simply named Inu no Tsume or Dog's Claw, and before you even try to make a joke about the name, I promise you, I've heard them all." The Inuzuka clan head sighed. "Anyway, down to business."

* * *

Naruto had spent the rest of the day's light training in the most basic aspects of the Inu no Tsume, and the following week on perfecting the first four kata. Every day after missions and team training, he and Kiba would go straight back to the Inuzuka compound for yet more training, Kiba going off each time with a different dog, while Tsume continued to drill Naruto in taijutsu.

It had been exactly a week since they'd become genin at this point, and under orders from their sensei, team eight was having a day off. Kurenai had apparently gone so far as to contact both the Inuzuka and the Aburame clan heads to arrange this, making sure that it happened, by not only getting them to agree not to not train the genin in question, but by getting them to actually force them to leave home for the day.

While Naruto couldn't be sure how it was done with Shino, he knew how it'd happened with Kiba and himself. When they'd returned from the short team meeting they'd had, Tsume simply told them both to turn around and leave, and not to come back until at least seven in the evening.

And when Naruto had tried to protest, he'd quickly found himself being chased toward Konoha's main street by a group of three of the larger Inuzuka dogs. That had quickly quelled any and all desire the blonde had to go back any time soon.

They'd run into Shino shortly there after, and now the three sat under a tree in the park, trying to decide what the do with their day. It was only about ten in the morning at this point, which left them with nine hours to burn before any of them could go home.

"I still say we go see a movie." Kiba said with a frown, only for Naruto to say 'no' in a flat tone again, and then nothing else. "Ugh...would you at least tell me why not?" The dog user gave a halfhearted growl when the blonde simply gave another flat 'no' in answer.

"If I might interject." Shino began monotonously, continuing only once he was certain both his teammates were listening to him. "Before we being this loop again, perhaps we should consider an alternative? Say, perhaps one of the lakes, for a swim?"

Naruto and Kiba both stiffened at the thought, but it was Naruto who supplied an excuse first. "As nice as that sounds Shino...I don't actually even own any swimwear..."

"A matter such as that is easily corrected Naruto-san." Shino said calmly. "I know of a shop that sells very nice swimwear, and they would, in fact, be on the way to the lake I had in mind."

"As nice as a swim sounds on a hot day like today, I'm afraid I'd have to decline, you see I..." Kiba began making an excuse, only to be interrupted by Shino.

"You needn't worry Kiba-san; they sell girl's swimwear as well." The bug user commented flatly, even for Shino. The boy adjusted his glasses as he looked at the shocked looks he was getting from his two teammates. "I have known since our days in the academy, if the two of you are wondering."

Kiba and Naruto were both silent for the next while, before the dog user finally spoke. "I'm sorry for trying to hide it from you Shino." Was all she said before taking a deep breath and standing, looking down to her teammates with a small smile, focusing mostly on Shino. "So then...where's this shop?"

Shino nodded and stood as well, followed quickly by Naruto. "It is ok Kiba-san; I understand how frightening it can be when you think a secret like that might be revealed..." The bug user said truthfully. He himself had a secret he kept, though of a different kind, it made it possible for him to understand at least. "But I am of the opinion there should be no secrets among teammates."

Naruto flinched inwardly at that comment, though he managed to keep a straight face. That had done all too good a job of reminding him of his own secret, one which could very well kill the budding friendship he was building with his teammates. As he began to follow Shino, the blonde decided he might need to take Kurenai-sensei up on her offer sooner than he'd thought. He'd need help if he was ever going to reach a point where he could tell them about that.

* * *

It had taken them about fifteen minutes to reach the shop Shino had spoken of, and though nervous over what might happen, Naruto followed his teammates into the store.

"Welcome to the wet leaf." The old woman behind the counter in the back of the shop greeted as the trio entered, she smiled as she spotted Shino and gave a small bow. "Ah, Shino-kun, it is nice to see you in here again."

"It is a pleasure, as always Nami-san." Shino greeted as he bowed in return to her. "My friends and I are on our way to the lake, and are in need of swimwear." The bug user explained as he motioned to the two behind him.

"I see, well it is nice to meet anyone who is a friend of Shino-kun's." She said as she turned to look at the two. "You may call me Nami, and if you need any help, please just let me know, ok?"

Both Naruto and Kiba nodded as they broke away from Shino and each other to shop the shelves and racks. Naruto sighed as he continued to look through the different articles of swimwear, from shorts to wetsuits to there short sleeved and legged counterparts. There was even a section with flipper like shoes and goggles he assumed were for underwater use.

Still, for everything there was, he had yet to find anything to he liked enough to buy as far as the swimming shorts went. He was actually debating going over to the counter to ask for help, when Nami walked up to him. "Is there anything the matter?" She asked kindly.

Naruto shook his head in answer, since, in truth there wasn't. "No, not really." The blonde said calmly. "I'm just having a hard time finding anything I like." He explained as he looked back to the racks.

Nami looked thoughtful for a moment, before spotting the emblem on his shoulder and getting an idea. "I think I might have something that will suit your tastes in the back, if you'd like the see it."

Turning to the woman, Naruto nodded, and then followed her as she headed back to the counter. He stopped as she stepped back behind it, and then through a curtain covered doorway. He heard some rustling around before Nami came back out with a pair of swimming shorts in red, with a black swirl pattern on them.

"So, what do you think young man?" She asked with a smile. She could already tell he liked them, just by the way he was looking, but it always felt nice to hear it said.

"You're right; I think they'll suit me just fine." The blonde said with a smile. "I'll take them." After checking out, Naruto head for the back of the store, where he'd been told the changing rooms were. He figured there wouldn't be a good place to change at the lake, so it'd be best to do so here.

It didn't take him long to trade out his pants for the swimming shorts. Closing the changing room door behind him, Naruto headed for the front of the store to find Shino and Kiba both waiting on him.

"Guess I'm the last one, huh?" The blonde questioned sheepishly. "Sorry about that." He added before turning to wave at Nami, who bowed in return. "Come on, let's go."

Shino and Kiba both nodded, as Shino took the lead again. "I will lead the way, as we are not going to any of the public lakes." The bug user said calmly, only explaining when he got curious looks from Naruto and Kiba both. "I thought, since there are...sensitive matters, that could be easily discovered by someone at the public lakes, it would be better if we used my clans private one."

Kiba blushed lightly as she caught on to what Shino meant by 'sensitive matters'. "Thanks Shino, that's very kind of you." The dog user said with a small smile, though it was replaced a moment later as the other implications of what was said sunk in. "Wait...your clan owns a private lake?"

Shino nodded in reply as he continued to lead the way. "Yes, it is rare, but every now and then, the clan will gather for a day of swimming, though such things are always scheduled weeks ahead of time, so there is no chance of it today." The bug user explained. "Still, when Aburame swim, we find it best to keep to ourselves, and so, the clan purchased an area of forest with a private lake."

"Ah, I see." Kiba said with a nod. "But if that's the case, are you sure it's ok for Naruto and I to be there?"

"Yes, so long as you are with me." Shino answered certainly. "The area is free for any Aburame to use, and they may even bring friends with them, though, even so I find I am about the only one to use it, save for when the clan gathers together there."

* * *

The spot Shino lead them to was, for a lack of any better words, amazing. Naruto looked at the area before them and had to wonder why no one else knew about it. "Shino...this place is amazing..." The blonde observed astounded.

"Yeah, no joke." Kiba agreed as she looked about the area. The place was like a little slice of paradise hidden away in Konoha. "How on earth does no one else know about it?"

"The land is owned by the Aburame clan." Shino answered simply, as he adjusted his glasses again. "No one is allowed to come here with out one of our clan present, unless granted permission by the council and all members of the current head family."

"Whoa..." Was all Kiba could say to that before coming to a sudden realization. She'd forgotten to change before leaving the swim shop. "I can't believe I forgot something so basic..." The dog user grumbled as she shook her head.

"There is a changing room just beyond that tree Kiba-san." Shino said nodding toward a rather large tree not too far away. "Most members of clan prefer not to change until they have reached this place, and so, changing rooms were put in." The bug user explained as he unbuttoned his jacked and set it and his bag down on the grass, showing that he had changed back at the shop, as Naruto had.

"Ah, well thanks, I'll be back out in a little bit then." Kiba said as she sprinted for the tree to change. It didn't take long before she was back out ready to start enjoying the small stretch of lake with her teammates.

Naruto looked over as the dog user rejoined the group, and he couldn't stop the blush that hit his checks. Kiba was wearing a wetsuit with the sleeves and legs cut short, and while it wasn't revealing, it was formfitting, and he couldn't stop the image of her from when he'd walked in to the bathroom at the wrong time from flashing through his mind. Kiba seemed to notice his reaction, as she too was blushing lightly, most likely from memories of the same moment.

Shino had removed glasses once Kiba had come back out, but kept his eyes closed at first. "Naruto-san, Kiba-san..." The bug user started, thankfully breaking the awkward moment between the two as he drew their attention. "I feel I should warn you both before opening my eyes, that they are not normal."

"Well duh." Kiba said as she rolled her eyes at the comment. "Shino, we had kinda figured that out back at the academy, though we never were able to get a glimpse of what they looked like under those glasses of yours."

Shino nodded to this, he supposed he should have known it'd be obvious his eyes weren't normal; still it never hurt to be sure. "That is because most Aburame keep the condition of their eyes a complete secret, but as I said before, I do not believe in secrets between teammates." With that said Shino opened his eyes, and looked toward his teammates.


End file.
